Teach Soap

Hello All
I bought a m&p kit from Hobby Lobby, and I am going to try my first soapmaking today. The kit has the bar molds and it also came with a sea shell mold. The fragrance is lemon verbena and it came with red, blue, yellow coloring. I have been doing alot of research for this over the last week. I have become addicted to the Soap Queen, and I have been reading a couple of books. There is so many options when making soap, that my brain is going 90 to nothing trying to figure out what I should do for the first time with my soap. Should I try to do a swirl or a toy in the middle, or chunky soap....Or should I just stick to the basics? I was thinking maybe making a batch of each color soap and just making solids of the shells and bars, but I so want to experiment lol. Also, I'm still not sure about measurements....how much color and fragrance goes into 8oz, 1lb, of soap...I made my first bath bombs the other day. They really turned out good except for NO FIZZING. I'm not sure if I "wet" it too much, or if it's the high humidity here in GA.
Thank you all for letting me ramble. Any adive is welcomed and appreciated!

If I were you, I'd just start with colored/fragranced bars. You'll find that it will take a little practice to understand what temperature/consistancy your soap needs to be before you pour - so don't start out with anything complicated.

As for the fizzies - I have no idea why they wouldn't fizz! I've never had that happen before.

Ok, something you just said struck me. I don't pour any liquid into my bath bombs. I mix my dry ingredients, add my colors & fragrance, and then I use a spray bottle and spritz it with witch hazel until it holds together when I squeeze it.

Check out this video by Anne-Marie, it does a good job of demonstrating the consistency that you want before you start molding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgODHmkSTqQ

Good luck on your project! I find that the store bought bases tend to harden faster before pouring then the MP bases that BrambleBerry sells.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Yeah, don't use water. The water will set off the fizzing reaction. I usually mix in my color and fragrance first, and then start spraying with witch hazel. With the spray bottle I use (yours may be different than mine) I maybe have to spray it a dozen times before it gets to the consistency I want. You still want it to be dry'ish, kind of like damp sand. You'll know when you reach the right texture when you're able to easily mold and unmold it without having it fall apart. It takes a bit of practice, so don't be too worried about having your first batch not turn out right.

Well, I just finished doing my Hobby Lobby m&p kit... I guess it turned out ok for a kit, but I really don't know. The soap thickened up really fast. Also the colors that they provided were not very good to mix and try to get a new color. It came with the lemon verbena fragrance. I think that I have the basics of m&p with the kit, but I can't wait to try the really good stuff and some projects from BB. Wish me luck

Good luck, Bridget!

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Linda

I learn so much when I can't leave well enough alone!

You'll find that a good base is nothing like the ones from craft stores. You'll actually have time to do things with it! I ordered BB's MP sampler to see which I liked best. I really like the Hemp base and the Honey base.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

Bridget, BrambleBerry has a MP sampler pack. Try that one and see which base you like. It's sooooo much better then the stuff from the craft store.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist